The quiet carried for only a beat before Larson smirked.
“Of course she does.”
Then he turned on Trey. “You were supposed to let me know when they pulled up so I could go out and see my girl.”
Trey scoffed, but I spoke before he could retort. “And you must be, Bear?” I guessed, taking a step toward the broad and—well—bear-like man.
His shaggy hair and eyes were dark. Thick black hair nearly covered every square inch of visible light skin, and a groomed beard grew along his jaw.
A smile peeked through his facial hair as he bobbed his head up and down. I closed the distance, wrapping my arms around his wide form.
“It’s good to meet you,” I muffled into his chest.
He immediately returned the embrace, completely cocooning me in a—Bear trap.
“Alright, alright. It’s late,” Trey butted in, draping his arm over my shoulder. “We all have to get to bed. It’ll be a long day tomorrow, so goodnight. See you boys in the morning.”
He started leading me down a hallway, but Larson grabbed my arm, pulling me out from under Trey.
“Uh, no. She just got here,” he said, my back against his front as his hands cradled my biceps.
Bear grunted what sounded like an agreement while Williams took a step toward me and Larson. “Yeah, what’s that about, Turner? You talk about this girl nonstop, then when she gets here, you monopolize all the time? We deserve some Maybelle time too.”
Trey stared at his friends, jaw slack with a hint of a smile. “It’s late. What do you plan on doing with her?”
Larson, the big friendly giant, leaned his head forward so when I tilted my head back and looked up, we were making eye contact. “Have you ever played Call of Duty?” he asked.
“Nope, but I’m a fast learner.”
His grip on my arms flexed. “Okay, Maybelle’s on my team.”
Bear took a place on the beanbag, remote in hand, while Larson and I sank into the small couch, fitting a lot better than two of the boys sitting on it. Williams sprawled out on the floor on his stomach while Trey pulled up a stool from the kitchen counter. Within minutes, we were all hollering. Larson was trying to instruct me on the functions of the remote while simultaneously yelling at Bear and Williams to do better.
A few times we had to pause the game so Williams and Larson could bicker a bit before resuming. Bear kept to himself, quietly massacring us all repeatedly.
I was terrible at it but enjoyed every second. The weekend was already off to a great start.
We got away with about two hours of video games before Trey pulled the remote from my hands. He tugged me off the couch, toward the bedroom at the end of the hallway, and told the rest of the guys to go to bed.
The final straw was probably Larson and I squabbling over who dropped the ball on who. All while Bear was snoring on the beanbag, and Williams chipped in to support me, if only to piss Larson off more.
“Okay, you take the bed. I’m all set up on the ground,” Trey said as he shut his bedroom door behind us.
His room was simple, sleek. His bed was all black covers, pillows with a folded gray blanket at the end of the mattress. To the right side was a black dresser next to a door leading to a private bathroom. To the left was a closet and a frame on the wall of what I guessed was his old jersey, probably from high school. Next to his bed, a nightstand stood with a lamp and a small picture frame atop it.
I walked to it, picking up the picture to see it was the same one on my wall at home. The picture of me, Liam, and Trey on our graduation night.
“You’re welcome to change if you need. You can use the bathroom. I’m exhausted so I’m going to crash on my little spot, but if you need anything I’ll be right here,” he said as he made his way to the left side of the bed, where a pillow and blanket sat on the floor.
I met him there, grabbing his arm, and stopping him from laying out on the makeshift sleeping spot.
“Please, I won’t sleep tonight if you’re on the ground while I’m in your bed.” I pushed him toward the mattress, but he was immovable.
“What’s wrong? We do this at home.”
I tried to push harder, but he didn’t so much as sway.
Dropping my hands to my sides, I looked up at him. “Are you really arguing with me about sleeping in the same bed right now?”
